John a



(No Model.)

J-. LEMMON. THILL SUPPORT No.435,431. v PatentedSept.Z,1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN A LEMMON, OF VELPEN, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN F. CORN, OF SAME PLACE.

THlLL-SUPPO RT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 435,431, dated September 2, 1890.

Application filed June 12, I890.

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, JOHN A. LEMMON, a cit-izen of the United States, residing at Velpen, in the county of Pike and State of Indiana,

have invented a new and useful Tongue-Support, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to ton gue-supports, and is an improvement on the invention described in Letters Patent No. 421,502, granted to me on the 18th day of February, 1890.

The object of the present improvement is to provide means for preventing the accidental displacement laterally of the tonguesupport when held along the tongue.

With this object in view the invention resides in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the drawings, and

' pointed out in the claim appended at the end of this specification.

In the drawings forminga partof this specification, in which like numbers and letters of reference indicate corresponding parts, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a tongue provided with a tongue-support constructed in accordance with the invention, the tongue-support beingshown in operative position. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, the tongue-support being arranged along the lower face of the tongue, showing the parts when not in use; and Fig. 3 is a detail view of the holder and spring-catch.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a wagon-tongue, which is provided near its front end with a tongue support or prop 2, that is hinged to the tongue, and is adapted to be arranged vertically to support the end of the tongue, and when not in use is adapted to be arranged along the lower face of the tongue and be retained in that position by a springcatch 3, that engages the free end of the prop. The tongue support or prop is constructed of metal, and has one end bent upon itself to form an eye 4, which is engaged by a staple 5, that hinges the tongue support or prop to the tongue, while the other end is provided with a lateral stop or rest 4" to prevent sinking in soft ground. The spring-catch that engages the free end of a tongue support or prop and retains it in its position along the lower face Serial no 355,238. (No model.)

of the tongue, consists of a plate secured to the lower face of the tongue lengthwise, its end to nearest the tongue-support being broadened, and the sides of such end turned down to form the cars a, which will prevent the prop 2 from lateral displacement, and the other end having a vertical plate a depending therefrom, which is provided upon its side adjacent to the tongue support or prop with a spring 6, having its lower end riveted to the lowerend of the plate, and, being bulged outward, curves to a point near the plate, where its free end is bent to provide a shoulder 7, that is adapted to engage the free end of the tongue support or prop and hold the same adjacent to the lower face of the tongue at the same time the ears a extend on both sides of the prop 2 and prevent lateral displacement thereof.' Vhen it is desired to bring the tongue support or prop into operative position, the spring 6 is depressed, which releases the tongue support or prop and allows the same to swing into vertical position beneath the tongue.

From the foregoing description and the ac-, companying drawings it will readily be seen that the tongue-support is simple and inexpensive in its construction, adapted to be readily secured to atongue, and is capable of being easily brought into operative position, and when not in use is out of the way. It will also be seen that thepresent improvement consists in providing the plate secured to the lower face of the tongue lengthwise, having its end a nearest the tongue-support broadened, and the sides of such end turned down to form the ears a Having thus described my invention,what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a tongue-support, the combination of the tongue, the prop, constructed of metal and having its end formed with an eye, the staple engaging the eye and hinging the prop to the tongue, and the stop t on the prop, the spring-catch adapted to engage the free end of the prop and hold the same along the lower face of the tongue, and consisting of a metal plate secured lengthwise to the lower face of the tongue, having the end nearest the In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signatule in to presence of two witnesses.

JOHN A. LEMMON. Witnesses:

ANDREW J. HONEYCUTT, JOHN M. PARKER. 

